Essex Property Trust (ESS) Competitors

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) and AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, community ranking, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Does the media prefer ESS or AVB?

In the previous week, Essex Property Trust had 6 more articles in the media than AvalonBay Communities. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for Essex Property Trust and 11 mentions for AvalonBay Communities. Essex Property Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat AvalonBay Communities' score of 1.25 indicating that Essex Property Trust is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Essex Property Trust	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AvalonBay Communities	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ESS or AVB?

Essex Property Trust received 53 more outperform votes than AvalonBay Communities when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 60.43% of users gave AvalonBay Communities an outperform vote while only 56.38% of users gave Essex Property Trust an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Essex Property Trust	Outperform Votes 725 56.38%	Underperform Votes 561 43.62%
AvalonBay Communities	Outperform Votes 672 60.43%	Underperform Votes 440 39.57%

Is ESS or AVB more profitable?

AvalonBay Communities has a net margin of 36.20% compared to Essex Property Trust's net margin of 31.55%. Essex Property Trust's return on equity of 9.72% beat AvalonBay Communities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Essex Property Trust	31.55%	9.72%	4.36%
AvalonBay Communities	36.20%	8.84%	4.98%

Which has higher earnings & valuation, ESS or AVB?

AvalonBay Communities has higher revenue and earnings than Essex Property Trust. AvalonBay Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essex Property Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Essex Property Trust	$1.74B	10.86	$405.83M	$8.56	34.40
AvalonBay Communities	$2.88B	11.21	$928.83M	$7.31	31.04

Is ESS or AVB a better dividend stock?

Essex Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $9.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. AvalonBay Communities pays an annual dividend of $6.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Essex Property Trust pays out 114.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AvalonBay Communities pays out 93.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Which has more risk & volatility, ESS or AVB?

Essex Property Trust has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AvalonBay Communities has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend ESS or AVB?

Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus price target of $302.11, suggesting a potential upside of 2.60%. AvalonBay Communities has a consensus price target of $231.33, suggesting a potential upside of 1.97%. Given Essex Property Trust's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Essex Property Trust is more favorable than AvalonBay Communities.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Essex Property Trust	1 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.26
AvalonBay Communities	0 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.39

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ESS or AVB?

96.5% of Essex Property Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.6% of AvalonBay Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Essex Property Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of AvalonBay Communities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Essex Property Trust and AvalonBay Communities tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.